{"id":153012,"date":"2021-02-15T17:04:34","date_gmt":"2021-02-15T22:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breaking911.com\/?p=153012"},"modified":"2021-02-15T17:06:41","modified_gmt":"2021-02-15T22:06:41","slug":"state-federal-authorities-bust-colorado-based-international-drug-enterprise-arrest-64","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breaking911.com\/state-federal-authorities-bust-colorado-based-international-drug-enterprise-arrest-64\/","title":{"rendered":"State, federal authorities bust Colorado-based international drug enterprise, arrest 64"},"content":{"rendered":"

DENVER\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 The Denver Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration in partnership with Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, Arvada Police Department, and the 17th Judicial District Attorney\u2019s Office, today announced the dismantling of an international drug trafficking ring and a related money laundering enterprise operating throughout Colorado.<\/p>\n

The investigation, which launched in March 2019, uncovered a thriving market for illicit controlled substances, including heroin and counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0are the primary drivers of the recent increase in opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

In the last 20 years in Colorado,\u00a0nearly 5,000 Coloradans<\/a>\u00a0died from a prescription opioid overdose.\u00a0More than 900 of those deaths were due to synthetic opioids that included fentanyl. That number has risen sharply in recent years, from 49 deaths in 2016 to 220 in 2019, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a significant amount of illegal drugs taken off the streets,\u201d said DEA Denver Field Division Special Agent in Charge Deanne Reuter. \u201cAn investigation of this magnitude couldn\u2019t be accomplished without the support of our local law enforcement partners and their tireless efforts to stop the flow of this poison through our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Denver DEA\u2019s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Strike Force directed the law enforcement investigation in partnership with the Arvada Police Department. As a result of the investigation, 64 people were charged with participating in an international drug trafficking network that transported large quantities of methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl from Mexico through U.S. ports of entry into Colorado in motor vehicles with concealed compartments.<\/p>\n

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\u201cColorado communities and families have suffered greatly from the opioid epidemic\u2014and that impact is getting worse during this pandemic. \u00a0That\u2019s why addressing this crisis is a top priority for our office,\u201d said Weiser. \u201cBy holding accountable the high-level organizers of this criminal enterprise and halting the spread of dangerous drugs, we can help save lives in Colorado. This effort is an excellent example of what we accomplish through ongoing collaboration in our state.\u201d<\/p>\n

The investigation also uncovered a money laundering operation that trafficked drug proceeds through a variety of wire transfers and bulk U.S. currency transports to Mexico. The team found these drug trafficking cells in the Denver metropolitan area, Colorado Springs, and Adams County.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur community is safer today thanks to the commitment of our investigators and our Law Enforcement Agency partners. The distribution of narcotics and weapons at this level should be of grave concern to our society,” said Arvada Police Chief Link Strate.<\/p>\n

The investigation has recovered:<\/p>\n